BUTTER PECAN SHORTBREAD

Ingredients:

Butter - 1 cup

Firmly packed light brown sugar - 1/2 cup

All purpose flour -  2 1/4 cups

Pecans - 1/2 cup (finely chopped)

Decorator icing:

Butter -  2 tbsp

Vanilla - 1/4 tsp

Confectioners' sugar - 1 cup

Milk -  1 tbsp

Red and green food colouring

Method:

• to prepare shortbread, beat butter until softened; add brown sugar gradually, beating until fluffy.
• Add flour gradually, beating until well blended. Mix in pecans.
• Chill dough until easy to handle.
• On lightly floured surface, pat and roll dough into a 14 * 10" rectangle about 1/4" thick.
• Cut dough into 24 squares. Divide each square into 4 triangles.
• Transfer triangles to ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake at 300 F 18- 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove to wire rack to cool.
• To prepare icing, cream butter with vanilla in a small bowl.
• Add confectioners sugar gradually, beating until blended.
• Blend in enough milk for desired consistency for icing.
• Colour one third of icing red and two thirds green.
• Force icing through decorator tube to make a holly decoration on each cookie.